Geraldine Vrooman
ID # 190, (1836-1920)
| Father | Admiral Nelson Vrooman (1799-1882) |
| Mother | Rachel Coleman (1806-1896) |
| Birth | Geraldine Vrooman was born on 14 May 1836 at Dumfries Township, Ontario. |
| Marriage | She married Joseph Unger in 1855. The year of marriage for Joseph and Geraldine, 1855 as shown in this tree, is approximate and based on 1856 being the year of birth for Nelson Vrooman Unger. |
| Marriage | She married John Hunter on 28 November 1866 at Dundas, Wentworth County. MS248 reel 17, Vol. 92. Page 171 Wentworth Co, Marriage performed by Rev. F. L. Osler, Church of England John Hunter, 27, born Jersey, residing Harrisburgh. Parents Jno. Hunter and Eliz Carey. Geraldine Anger (Unger) '52', born Dumfries, residing Harrisburg. Parents Nelson Vroomand and Rachel Coleman. Witnesses Sarah Bell and Jas. Bell, both of Dundas. On Nov. 28th, 1866. The county clerk will have had trouble with the clergyman's handwriting. Geraldine's surname was Unger at the time of this marriage. The clerk has written Anger. He has also clearly written 52 for her age when her real age was closer to 30. Also, the witnesses - both had the surname Bell and the first one is clearly written as Sarah, but the second is almost certainly an abbreviation and Jas. for James is as good a guess as any. The best we can say is that the marriage was held in Wentworth County. Exact locations are rarely given in the county marriage registers. Since, however, the witnesses reside Dundas it may well be that this was where they were married. A note here: The full name of the clergyman was Featherstone Lake Osler. He was a minister at Dundas for many years and at the time of the marriage of John Hunter and Geraldine Vrooman Unger. |
| Marriage | She married Leonard Ellington in 1868. |
| Death | She died on 11 April 1920 at Toronto, Ontario, at age 83. |
| Burial | She was buried at Harrisburg Cemetery, Harrisburg, Ontario. |
| Note | Geraldine appears in the 1851 census taken at South Dumfries in the home of her aunt, Teressa Coleman Moe Wait and her husband Samuel Wait.She is 15 at the time. She is at Hamilton in 1881 as Geraldine Ellington and in the 1901 census at Toronto. Her death registration is 003814-20. The informant is shown as Miss M. Ellington, her daughter. That Margaret's name was Ellington was an assumption on the doctor's part when he filled out the death certificate. Margaret's married name was Greenwood. She was never an Ellington. Her maiden name was Unger. Her death registration gives her birth place as Harrisburg, Ontario. In time, this was correct, but at the time of Geraldine's birth there was no Harrisburg, nor Vromenia, nor Carstairs, as Harrisburg was known in previous iterations. It was also prior to the division of Dumfries Township into North and South. It would be correct to say that she was born in DumfriesTownship and so that is what is entered here. Online cemetery transcriptions of the birth year of Geraldine show 1856. This is incorrect. A careful examination of the now faded inscription on the stone shows that the birth year given is 1836. Also, while transcriptions of the stone, which is on the reverse side that of her parents, logically show her as Vrooman, Geraldine, in fact her inscription simply records her as 'His daughter/Geraldine'. The 1901 and 1911 censuses show Geraldine as being a good ten years younger than she really was, but her birth date is given as May 14, and that is used in this tree. The Toronto city directories of the era show Geraldine Ellington as the widow of Leonard. There is some support for this in the earlier Hamilton city directories as well. Therefore, this tree shows the name of her last husband as Leonard Ellington. At the time of Geraldine's death she was living at 58 Gloucester Street. According to Toronto City directories, she was there from 1908 until 1920. She seems to have come to Toronto in or around 1886, living first at 57 Cecil Street, and then at three different addresses on John Street. Mainly, she was at 185 John Street from 1898 until 1907. No marriage record has been found for Geraldine's marriage to Joseph Unger, but there is no doubt at this point that he was her first husband. Their children, Nelson and Maggie, are in the Nelson Vrooman household in the 1871 census. Joseph was witness at the marriage of Melissa Vrooman and James Campbell. Geraldine's marriage record to her second husband, John Hunter, has been found and her name is given as Geraldine 'Aunger', daughter of Nelson Vrooman and Rachel Coleman. Joseph Unger's will has three beneficiaries: his wife Geraldine, his son Nelson V., and his daughter Maggie. Also, a land grant made by Nelson Vrooman at Harrisburg in 1859, A 59, grants title of a block of land in Harrisburg to his grandson Nelson Vrooman Unger, with interest to be paid to his mother Geraldine until he reached age of majority. This would appear to be conclusive so far as Geraldine's marriage to Joseph Unger is concerned. The marriage record for Geraldine 'Aunger' and John Hunter has been found on reel MS248 Reel 17, Wentworth County marriages. Her parents as Nelson Vrooman and Rachel Coleman. It's safe to say that Geraldine was married three times. The actual marriage record for Geraldine and Leonard Ellington has not yet been found. The year of marriage, shown as 1868, is approximate. |
Children of Geraldine Vrooman and Joseph Unger |
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| Last Edited | 20 Dec 2017 |